Category Archives: Inspiration

Letting Go

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

A long-time fan of bestselling authors and coaches Marc and Angel Chernoff, I look forward to reading their emails and blog posts. Here’s an excerpt from a recent post:

All of the things from our past that we desperately try to hold on to, as if they’re real, solid, everlasting fixtures in our lives, aren’t really there. Or if they are there in some form, they’re changing, fluid, impermanent, or simply imagined storylines in our minds.

Life gets a lot easier to deal with the moment we understand this.

Imagine you’re blindfolded and treading water in the center of a large swimming pool, and you’re struggling desperately to grab the edge of the pool that you think is nearby, but really it’s not—it’s far away. Trying to grab that imaginary edge is stressing you out, and tiring you out, as you splash around aimlessly trying to holding on to something that isn’t there.

Now imagine you pause, take a deep breath, and realize that there’s nothing nearby to hold on to. Just water around you. You can continue to struggle with grabbing at something that doesn’t exist… or you can accept that there’s only water around you, and relax, and float.

Today I challenge you to ask yourself:

*What’s something from the past that you are still desperately trying to hold on to?

*How is it affecting you in the present?

Then imagine the thing you’re trying to hold on to doesn’t really exist. Envision yourself letting go… and just floating.

How might that change your life from this moment forward?

Note: I highly recommend subscribing to Marc & Angel’s website.

Growing My Wings

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

I look forward to receiving weekly emails from Robert Holden, a British psychologist, author, and broadcaster, who works in the field of positive psychology and well-being. Here’s an excerpt from a recent email:

At the start of the year, I got a shoulder injury. I got it playing football with my son Christopher. I was playing in goal, when I made a heroic dive that ruptured tendons in my shoulder.

A few days later, my family and I flew to Findhorn, Scotland. I booked myself in to see Kemi, who is an amazing bodyworker and healer who lives nearby.

“There is a deeper purpose to this injury!” Kemi told me.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Your shoulders are telling me that they want you to rest more,” she said.

“I’d like that,” I said.

“To heal your shoulder injury, you will need to lighten the load you are carrying,” she said.

“You mean, take some weight off my shoulders?”

“Yes,” she said. “And it’s time to grow wings.”

Louise Hay believed that the body is a message board. And that your body is always trying to give you messages to help you be healthier, happier, and more whole.

Kemi feels the same way about the body. “Listening to your body is a spiritual practice,” she says.

Asking yourself a question like, “What message does my body want me to know today?” is a great practice for living a healthy life.

My new spiritual practice is growing wings. I am enjoying playing with this metaphor.

‘So, what can I do to grow my wings?” I asked Kemi.

“Let life love you more,” she told me, with a smile.

“I wrote a book about that!” I said.

“Let your angels help you more,” she said.

“You mean, stop trying to do life all by myself,” I said.

“Exactly,” she said.

Note: I highly recommend subscribing to Robert Holden’s website.

Keep Showing Up

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

In A Year of Writing Dangerously, author and teacher Barbara Abercrombie shares anecdotes, insights, and solutions. Here’s a thought-provoking excerpt:

Maybe the essay you’re writing, or the memoir or novel, has now taken up residence in your inner life, like a DVD playing in your head. Maybe as you go to sleep at night, you’re working on your story, you dream it. And when you brush your teeth in the morning, you’re thinking about it, seeing flashbacks of your own life or your characters hovering behind you. If it’s a book you’re working on, you imagine what the cover will look like. Articles you read in the newspaper or online, things you observe, hear on radio or TV—everything starts to connect to your work.

Maybe you already have a draft of an essay or short story you’ve written that needs to sit for a while for you to get some perspective on it, and you’re looking for the subject of your next one. What you look for, you usually find.

Or maybe not. Maybe you’re stuck. But the only way to become unstuck is to keep showing up, to keep writing. And trust that when you do show up, something will be playing in your unconscious.

Source: A Year of Writing Dangerously, p.149

Honoring Tina Turner

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Legendary icon Tina Turner died yesterday at age 83.

One of the best-known singers of her generation, Tina started performing as a teenager in rural Tennessee and embarked on a long, often painful, journey to global stardom. She was almost forty when she finally broke free from an abusive marriage.

In an interview with German Vogue, she commented, “A lot of people thought that Tina Turner was history. They only knew Ike and Tina Turner and didn’t understand what was going on. So I had to test myself.”

While she found it difficult at first, she achieved even greater success as a solo artist, proving she could hold her own against any man. At age 60, she was the biggest-selling concert artist in the world. Her high energy and uninhibited style earned her the title: Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

My favorite quotations from Tina Turner:

“My legacy is that I stayed on course… from the beginning to the end because I believed in something inside of me.”

“I believe that if you’ll just stand up and go, life will open up for you.”

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

“At every moment, we always have a choice, even if it feels as if we don’t. Sometimes that choice may simply be to think a more positive thought.”

“The older you get, the more you realize it’s not what happens, but how you deal with it.”

“You must love and care for yourself, because that’s when the best comes out.”

“My greatest beauty secret is being happy with myself.”

“Sometimes you’ve got to let everything go—purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything… whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.”

“My heartfelt wish is that you and I, and everyone around the world, will continue expanding our hearts and minds while celebrating our differences and ridding ourselves of any form of discrimination. This, I believe, is a basic requirement for peace, both within ourselves and in our societies.”

“This is what I want in heaven… words to become notes and conversations to be symphonies.”

My favorite song:

Inspiration from My Favorite Authors

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Collecting quotations has been one of my lifelong hobbies. In the pre-computer days, I would jot down quotations on slips of paper and toss them in a desk drawer. Once a month, I would type them up and place them in a special file folder. I’ve kept the folder but now use Pinterest and Goodreads to store my quotations.

These quotations resonate during this season of my life:

“If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.” ~ Margaret Atwood

“Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” ~ E. L. Doctorow

Continue reading on the Soul Mate Authors blog.

When Inner Peace Begins

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

A long-time fan of bestselling authors and coaches Marc and Angel Chernoff, I look forward to reading their emails and blog posts. Here’s an excerpt from a recent post:

In the present moment we all have some kind of pain: anger, sadness, frustration, disappointment, regret, etc.

Notice this pain within yourself, watch it closely, and see that it’s caused by whatever story you have in your head about what happened in the past (either in the recent past or in the distant past). Your mind might insist that the pain you feel is caused by what happened (not by the story in your head about it), but what happened in the past is NOT happening right now. It’s over. It has passed. But the pain is still happening right now because of the story you’ve been subconsciously telling yourself about that past incident.

Note that “story” does not mean “fake story.” It also does not mean “true story.” The word “story” in the context of your self-evaluation doesn’t have to imply true or false, positive or negative, or any other kind of forceful judgment call. It’s simply a process that’s happening inside your head:

*You are remembering something that happened.

*You subconsciously perceive yourself as a victim of this incident.

*Your memory of what happened causes a strong emotion in you.

So just notice what story you have, without judging it, and without judging yourself. It’s natural to have a story; we all have stories. See yours for what it is. And see that it’s causing you pain. Then take a deep breath, and another…

Inner peace begins the moment you take these deep breaths and choose not to allow the past to rule your present thoughts and emotions.

Note: I highly recommend subscribing to Marc & Angel’s website.

Spotlight on Unwillable by Jackie M. Stebbins

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome author and motivational speaker Jackie M. Stebbins. Today, Jackie shares interesting facts about autoimmune encephalitis and her memoir, Unwillable.

Here’s Jackie!

In 2018, after a traumatizing onset and near-death experience at age thirty-four, I was diagnosed with a rare brain illness, autoimmune encephalitis (AE). I had never before heard of AE, but I’m not alone; eight out of ten people in the world haven’t heard of encephalitis (spoiler alert, that’s one of my ten facts, please keep reading).

I wrote my memoir, Unwillable, to help raise awareness about my rare brain illness. And I hope to add to the conversation with this list.

Here are ten (hopefully interesting) facts about encephalitis:

What: Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain. It is caused by an infection or through the immune system attacking the brain. (I have AE. My immune system sneakily attacked my brain.)

Who: Anyone can develop encephalitis regardless of age, gender, or ethnicity. (I’ve met women and men older than me with AE, and I’ve met a boy who was diagnosed when he was under five years old).

Outcomes: Encephalitis can have a high death rate and survivors might be left with an acquired brain injury and life-changing consequences. Early diagnosis and treatment can save lives and improve outcomes. In some cases, encephalitis can impact mental health, causing difficulty in dealing with emotions and behaviors, and can lead to thoughts of self-harm and even suicide.

Death: Encephalitis has a high death rate (up to 40% dependent on cause) and a relapse rate of between 12 and 35% (dependent on cause).

Awareness: In many countries, encephalitis is more common than ALS, multiple sclerosis, bacterial meningitis, and cerebral palsy, but eight out of ten people in the world have never heard of encephalitis. (But not you, because you’re reading this blog!)

Symptoms: Autoimmune encephalitis symptoms may include: confusion, altered personality or behavior, psychosis, movement disorders, seizures, hallucinations, memory loss, or sleep disturbances. Infectious encephalitis usually begins with a ‘flu-like illness’ or headache, and more serious symptoms follows, such as loss of consciousness, coma, a high temperature, seizures, inability to speak or control movement, sensory changes, neck stiffness or uncharacteristic behavior.

Diagnosis: To diagnose encephalitis, doctors perform a variety of tests such as a spinal tap, CT or MRI brain scans, an electroencephalogram (EEG), various blood tests, and cognitive assessments.

Prognosis: Encephalitis can be complicated to diagnose and is often misdiagnosed. It can also be hard to treat the cause of encephalitis (infectious or autoimmune) and to treat the symptoms and complications arising from encephalitis.

Recovery: Encephalitis recovery can be a long and slow process, because the brain takes much longer to recover than other parts of the body.

#StebbinsStrong: I wrote Unwillable after Susannah Cahalan’s memoir Brain on Fire was a NYT #1 bestseller. I wanted to add to the knowledge base about my rare brain illness and I wanted to show people that even when life throws the worst at you, you can survive, recover, and rebuild your life in a meaningful way. There is life after autoimmune encephalitis!

Blurb

“Jackie Stebbins’ UNWILLABLE is an inspiring story of a brilliant woman’s battle with autoimmune encephalitis and the circle of support–from loving family members to dedicated physicians–who helped guide her through a hard-won recovery. Her story is as moving as it is important and is destined to help so many others facing this condition.”

Susannah Cahalan author of NYT #1 Bestseller Brain on Fire

Excerpt

While my complete stay isn’t embedded in my memory, because of what the illness was doing to my brain, my time there will never be forgotten because of its place in my life’s story. That experience definitively marks where I’m right at the edge between a well-educated, successful, driven, independent, and thriving woman and an incapacitated person, powerless and relegated to the care of those around her, on the brink of brain damage or death without the intervention of the correct diagnosis. And a small part of me now believes I then understood that I was teetering on a life-altering and explosive line. But that same small part of me can’t say whether, for the first time in my life, I believed my situation to be unwillable. Perhaps my own will would not be enough.

I will always remember crawling into bed the first night, ragged with emotion, and the racing thoughts my mind was still able to conjure up. The questions pulsed through my silent tears. What the hell happened to me? . . . I cannot possibly belong here. I haven’t led a life that would lead me to this dysfunction. I was doing so well. . . . I’m the senior partner at my law firm. I’ve never before had a problem with mental health. . . . Why am I at rock bottom? How the hell did I end up in a psychiatric ward?

Buy/Read Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Author Bio and Links

Jackie M. Stebbins was living her dream as a nationally recognized family law, criminal defense, and civil litigator. But Stebbins’s career as a lawyer abruptly ended in May, 2018, when she was diagnosed with a rare brain illness, autoimmune encephalitis. Stebbins persevered to make a remarkable recovery and turned herself into an author and motivational speaker. Stebbins is the author of the JM Stebbins blog and host of the Brain Fever podcast. Stebbins’s side hustle includes raising three lovely children with her wonderful husband, Sean, in Bismarck, North Dakota, and in her leisure time she can be found reading, trying to be funny, and aqua jogging.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn | TikTok

Giveaway

Jackie M. Stebbins will be awarding a custom #StebbinsStrong t-shirt (US only) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

Follow Jackie on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

You’re Never Too Old to Grow in Your Thinking

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Here’s a thought-provoking reflection from international speaker and bestselling author Joyce Meyer:

Dr. Caroline Leaf, a leading brain scientist/learning specialist and committed Christian, notes in her teaching on the brain: “The Word and science believe that the mind and the brain are one.” The way you think is voluntary—you can control your thoughts. I want you to give your brain a new job and begin to teach your mind to work for you instead of against you.

One important way to do this is to make the intentional decision that you will begin to think positively. I realize your brain won’t be able to fulfill the new role completely overnight. You may be asking it to undergo a radical transformation, and that will take time. So give it a little grace, but determine that with your diligence and God’s help your brain will go to work for you instead of against you and become a powerful, positive force in your life.

I like what Dr. Leaf says—that the human brain takes “eighteen years to grow and a lifetime to mature.” Don’t miss this point. Although every other organ in the body is fully formed when a person is born, and simply gets bigger as the body gets bigger, the brain actually takes a full eighteen years to be fully formed. After that it continues to mature until the day a person dies. This means, no matter how old you are, your brain is still maturing. This is great news because it means you do not have to be stuck in any old or wrong thought patters. Your brain is still maturing, so you can still mature in your thinking.

Source: Trusting God Day by Day by Joyce Meyer

More Rumi Wisdom

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Rumi (born Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī) was a 13-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi mystic. One of the most accomplished poets of all time, his musings on life, love, and the mysteries of the universe continue to resonate worldwide.

Here are ten of my favorite Rumi quotes:

You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean, in a drop.

Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.

Why do you stay in prison, when the door is so wide open?

Live life as if everything is rigged in your favor.

If the light is in your heart, you will find your way home.

There’s a field somewhere beyond all doubt and wrongdoing. I’ll meet you there.

Seek the wisdom that will untie your knot. Seek the path that demands your whole being.

Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.

Anyone who genuinely and consistently with both hands looks for something will find it.

Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.